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I'm a 2:2 graduate I can't even get minimum wage jobs

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Reply 520
Got an interview sorted :eek:
Original post by MUN123
Got an interview sorted :eek:


Just take it as it comes mate. You haven't been unemployed for very long at all really... get fine tuning those skills. 2:2 or not, a graduate should be able to get a job, even if it's not your dream. It's the people who can't read and write that are really ****ed.
Ive been in the same boat before. You only just graduated so be patient and be persistent. Be very smart with your applications and don't apply to jobs blindly.

What I did was I took a job in retail banking so than I can move along financially, but I kept my eyes open every day for other "better" opportunities. Before I started at PwC, I failed their entry exam interview etc three times. PERSISTENCE is key! PM me if you need a chat.

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Original post by Brandon26
Ive been in the same boat before. You only just graduated so be patient and be persistent. Be very smart with your applications and don't apply to jobs blindly.

What I did was I took a job in retail banking so than I can move along financially, but I kept my eyes open every day for other "better" opportunities. Before I started at PwC, I failed their entry exam interview etc three times. PERSISTENCE is key! PM me if you need a chat.

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What are the entry exam interview, the psychometric tests? Did you keep trying for three years ( I presume it's 1 app per year, may be wrong)
One application every 6 months actually! Yes I failed a combination of psychometric exams as well as phone interview. In my penultimate try I got to the final stage and failed! Kept trying and trying though.

Original post by owwwww2
What are the entry exam interview, the psychometric tests? Did you keep trying for three years ( I presume it's 1 app per year, may be wrong)




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Original post by Brandon26
One application every 6 months actually! Yes I failed a combination of psychometric exams as well as phone interview. In my penultimate try I got to the final stage and failed! Kept trying and trying though.
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I'm glad you got through in the end! :smile: Was pwc the only company you really wanted to join or did you have your eyes on other places too?
EDIT: Just saw that someone necro'd this thread :emo: how's the job hunt going? Original post inc below in case useful




Original post by MUN123
It doesn't help that when I was about 16/17 we were in a rescission so getting minimum wage jobs was quite difficult as they then required someone with years of experience in shelve stacking and as a 16/17 year old I didn't have that.

I did volunteer at some places in the summers I have that in my CV and that didn't help me secure employment.
I've basically been lied to and been told that doing my degree will make it easier for me to get a job, which I believed when I was a naive 6th former


I can empathise, I wasn't able to get ANY summer jobs when I was a teenager, because there was such insane competition.

I've managed to find 3 different placements when required during my course, the UK is undoubtably harder to get a job in than Asia, maybe overseas IT work is worth considering?
There's a shortage of skilled graduates there, and a well-spoken, well-dressed western graduate ticks a lot of boxes.

My advice would be to aim for shorter work placement or summer job schemes at your desired firms, shorter job periods are attractive to employers because they can hire newbies without committing as much risk if the employee turns out to be ****. Call every goddamn business you can think of or find on Google, across the UK. Ask to speak to their HR manager, try to talk to them via phone or at least get a personal email address.

You have to put effort in, its very easy to get depressed and moan about your degree result (which is your fault anyway so hardly an excuse) - or to moan about how strict employers are, you need to be incredibly proactive and check up on each company weekly or they'll just forget about you, keep doing this until one offers an interview, and then ace the living crap out of that. Then get a job.
If it's short term it might lead to something more permanent if you impress, and if it doesn't you'll have the CV boost, contacts in the industry who can refer you to other companies, etc etc. Then you're in.
(edited 9 years ago)
All the Big 4, a number of smaller firms etc. Kept going back again and again to at least 20 firms.

Original post by owwwww2
I'm glad you got through in the end! :smile: Was pwc the only company you really wanted to join or did you have your eyes on other places too?




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If it's any consolation, ive got a recent business degree plus 10 years experience and i cant even find a decent job (meaning over £6.35 per hour, doing something business related)....

Now that is a bad situation to be in.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 529
Original post by Architecture-er
EDIT: Just saw that someone necro'd this thread :emo: how's the job hunt going? Original post inc below in case useful






I can empathise, I wasn't able to get ANY summer jobs when I was a teenager, because there was such insane competition.

I've managed to find 3 different placements when required during my course, the UK is undoubtably harder to get a job in than Asia, maybe overseas IT work is worth considering?
There's a shortage of skilled graduates there, and a well-spoken, well-dressed western graduate ticks a lot of boxes.

My advice would be to aim for shorter work placement or summer job schemes at your desired firms, shorter job periods are attractive to employers because they can hire newbies without committing as much risk if the employee turns out to be ****. Call every goddamn business you can think of or find on Google, across the UK. Ask to speak to their HR manager, try to talk to them via phone or at least get a personal email address.

You have to put effort in, its very easy to get depressed and moan about your degree result (which is your fault anyway so hardly an excuse) - or to moan about how strict employers are, you need to be incredibly proactive and check up on each company weekly or they'll just forget about you, keep doing this until one offers an interview, and then ace the living crap out of that. Then get a job.
If it's short term it might lead to something more permanent if you impress, and if it doesn't you'll have the CV boost, contacts in the industry who can refer you to other companies, etc etc. Then you're in.


So far I've had 1 interview which I've been rejected from even though I thought that I did well and the interviewer couldn't even answer some of the tech questions related to the role I fired off at the end. And yeah, moving overseas is one option I considered especially moving to the US, however it's out of question because getting a visa there is virtually impossible.

And your point about IT jobs being more available in Asia is because IT companies in the UK employ the tech workers in Asia so that they can pay them peanuts rather than employing a suitably qualified candidate in the UK who may demand a higher salary.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by MUN123
So far I've had 1 interview which I've been rejected from even though I thought that I did well and the interviewer couldn't even answer some of the tech questions related to the role I fired off at the end. And yeah, moving overseas is one option I considered especially moving to the US, however it's out of question because getting a visa there is virtually impossible.

And your point about IT jobs being more available in Asia is because IT companies in the UK employ the tech workers in Asia so that they can pay them peanuts rather than employing a suitably qualified candidate in the UK who may demand a higher salary.


Well a visa is 100% guaranteed if you have a company sponsoring you, same as in any developed world. Unless you happen to be a terrorist or something...

I meant high-end jobs, not scraping some crap off of someone's IT infrastructure. A lot of companies play each other at office politics, and recruiting 'sophisticated' white western employees pulls the manager a lot more kudos than shipping in 100 more bangladeshis, its a matter of aiming for the right job bracket. I've done it, though admittedly not in IT
Original post by Architecture-er
Well a visa is 100% guaranteed if you have a company sponsoring you, same as in any developed world. Unless you happen to be a terrorist or something...

I meant high-end jobs, not scraping some crap off of someone's IT infrastructure. A lot of companies play each other at office politics, and recruiting 'sophisticated' white western employees pulls the manager a lot more kudos than shipping in 100 more bangladeshis, its a matter of aiming for the right job bracket. I've done it, though admittedly not in IT

Does this only work for white people?
Original post by ScouseEmma28
If it's any consolation, ive got a recent business degree plus 10 years experience and i cant even find a decent job (meaning over £6.35 per hour, doing something business related)....

Now that is a bad situation to be in.


Where did you do your degree?
Original post by Dilzo999
Does this only work for white people?


For Asia work? Typically yes, positive racism. Applying within your own nationality is generally the best for non-whites because you're probably bilingual and can settle in the culture more easily, but whites can apply across the board with very little negative racism
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Sigma44
Where did you do your degree?

University of Liverpool
MUN123 -

You haven't answered valid questions:
- Where did you get your degree from?
- What job are you going for?

I'm guessing you are trying to do something technical i.e. programming or something of that nature.

I went to a Russell Group uni and graduated with a 2:2 from Computer Science. I didn't have spectacular A levels didn't even get the grades (way off kinda) but still got in. Didn't even do Maths at A level pre-requisite but still got in. Why, because I knew it had been done before. It was possible.

After my 2nd year I had an internship for a year at the biggest IT management consultancy and in turn worked for a big bank. As you can imagine the grades they expected/asked for. I was no where near. But I knew it had been done before. It was possible.

After a few very fun drunken years I left with a 2:2. I was out 7 days a week in first year. And about 4 nights a week for the rest of it. Partied hard. Barely went to lectures and didn't study really hard. A degree doesn't lie. If you don't put the hours in, you don't get the grades. A degree (what I have learn't) doesn't necessarily show intelligence. But it shows you those that are committed, prepared to work hard.

Your mentality is all wrong. You need to work on yourself. You need self help. Your attitude is defeatist. I recommend you watch some motivational speakers on youtube. That will help. You need to focus on your inner game.

Even with a 2:2, I was able to get the job I wanted. I know I want my own startup eventually so a job in one could only help. To put things in perspective the guy I was replacing had a CS from Oxford and left to go into banking. I didn't have the grades per se. But I'd heard of people getting jobs without having the grades. I knew it had been done before. That is was possible.

I had worked a saturday job at the ages of 16-18 in retail. And I did have the internship experience. I believe this helped. The beauty of a technical job is that if you have the skills you get the job. Show employers you have the skills. There is no real shortcut.

You have to show them you can fit in, you can do the job. If you are in a suitable living condition i.e. with parents. Do unpaid internships. Do work for free on freelancer. Do your own side project. Effectively something like that. You really should if you want to boost your CV.

Also you seemed to fire some questions back in your interview. WTF?! Don't ask real questions. Ask vague ones. One of my skills is the interview. I boast about 85% success rate from in face interview to job offer. The main goal is to get them to like you. For them to see you as someone they want to work with. That is it. You probably need to work on that.

The route of building a project/internship isn't an easy one. It is the hard route. But if you are going to think you are going to get ahead in life without hard work you are mistaken.

I have coasted my whole life until recently I realized I had to put some work in to get from where I am to where I want to be. You can't cheat the system. Some may glitch ahead, but they are anomalies, not the rule.

A degree from a Uni that isn't Oxbridge or Red brick isn't special. It means very little in the scheme of things. A 3rd from one of those still even carries weight from what I have seen with friends/people I know. But outside of those Uni's it is more difficult and your degree carries less weight (rightly or wrongly) from employers from what I have seen.

So it is simple. You need to work on your belief. I had a 2:2 and got the job I wanted. It's possible.
Original post by fat_hobbit
Experience helps tremendously. But, the trouble is for the PMs to have learned that, they would have had to have a technical person to tell them in the first place. If that techie pulls wool over their eyes, they will be fed misinformation and will have the inability to question them.



Any good CS degree will have a software engineering module. For my dissertation, I was also required to write a white paper, covering systems analysis, design etc That's why it is a pretty gruelling degree, it is not just about code. There is math, code, white paper etc.

A CS degree is generally useless for the hardware side of things, 'electrical engineering' is more relevant to that.


This corporate vs startup world deabate is a non-starter. It's like saying what is better jam or marmalade. They are different. Perks/benefits from the corporate world is better. In the startup world it is worse, but there is more reward i.e. career progression at a faster rate and equity.

Feel free to PM me Hobbit, it would be good to hear what you are up to.
The fact is everything is far too competetive in the UK. I mean, even **** shelf stacking jobs that no one wants get like 40 applicants per position. It's ridiculous.

I'd strongly suggest everyone in the same boat look abroad for jobs and ditch the basket case that is the UK, where a crappy minimum wage job requires a PhD and 10 years of experience.

Case in point - I'm working in Shanghai right now, teaching English. Graduated in 2013 but there was bugger all opportunity in the UK, so I fired off a few applicantions to some ESL positions. Within the week I'd got offered a job for 1600 pounds a month, which works out to about 1450 after taxes. The job is an absolute piece of cake and the company takes anyone who has a white face and breathes air. Rent is about 300-400 a month for your own personal private apartment with kitchen and bathroom - you'd only be able to find a house share in the UK for that price. After I've taken care of my utility bills, rent and food, I've got about 900 quid left over each month that I can use to enjoy myself or save as I wish.

The food is great, the beer is cheap, and the girls are beautiful and super easy. There's no manager bleating in your ear about 'corporate standards', 'professionalism', and other such BS. The only requirement is that you turn up for classes on time and sober - anything else is a bonus.

And I repeat - this is an entry level position that takes anyone who is white and not horrendously disfigured. Why try and grind it out in ripoff Britain when there's plenty of other options abroad?

I'll come back to the UK when the country as a whole gets its head out of its ass, and starts offering opportunities and salaries that are respectful for the standards demanded. Right now it's way out of line. And if the country never gets its act together, well screw it, I'll just stay here then.

There's also the added bonus you get to say 'up yours Britain' by not repaying a penny of your student loan. You damn well bet I've not filled in those overseas worker forms for the Student Loans Company.
(edited 9 years ago)
The unemployment situation in this country is little to do with grades and much to do with a lack of jobs.

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